Speaking in Parliament, Plevris said the bill reflects his party’s ideological stance: “a huge fence for the illegal and a small door for the legal.” He argued that people who have received asylum should be steered towards employment rather than relying on state support, even as organisations working with refugees say many beneficiaries have not received the allowances they are entitled to for months.
In the most pointed part of his remarks, Plevris said: “We are cutting benefits. Go to work or else get up and leave Greece.” He added that, during the period of asylum protection, people should work and “not live on benefits.”
He also endorsed a provision, linked to an EU directive, that would allow authorities to revoke residence permits issued for specific jobs if the permit-holder later becomes unemployed. “The residence permit is given for a few jobs. If he is unemployed, what logic are we serving? Now the permit will be revoked,” he said, presenting labour market participation as the central rationale for legal stay.
On NGOs, Plevris responded to criticism from PASOK rapporteur Nadia Giannakopoulou, who argued that parts of the bill effectively criminalise NGO activity. Plevris rejected that claim and said the target is trafficking. “Yes, I dislike and hate traffickers and I legislate against them,” he said, arguing that heavier penalties should apply when NGO members are involved in trafficking networks. He insisted that NGOs should support such measures.
The report notes that the bill provides for the deletion of NGOs from the relevant registry in the event of prosecution, not conviction, of an employee, raising concerns about the presumption of innocence and creating new obstacles to their operation.
Plevris also said the government is ending what he called a “closed profession” in NGO contracting, claiming that NGOs had been receiving ministry-funded projects through direct awards without competition. He said that practice is being abolished after objections from the Court of Auditors, which, he claimed, warned of violations of European rules.
Finally, Plevris said Greece is in talks with four other countries about creating return centres outside Europe for people who cannot be deported because their countries of origin refuse to accept them. He argued that such a move would reduce irregular arrivals.
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